


Shining Darkness

by Sho (Shokitty)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Kuron (Voltron) Deserves Better, Kuron is Shiro (Voltron)'s Clone, M/M, One-Sided Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 23:14:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18353705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shokitty/pseuds/Sho
Summary: —Keith,— he let out, in a sigh that sounded way too desperate, while looking at the controls and wondered how he could get an image, how could he manage to see him. —I, I don’t...I don't really understand completely these controls, I don't know what to do, I, it took me forever to even send the distress signal but I am...I, I am at the factory, I am, where...where you saw me the last time, I...— was he even making sense? He didn’t knew, or if Keith was even connecting the dots about him and the signal, he just knew that he had to tell everything right now, to let out what he wanted to cry out, —...that mark on your cheek, I am where I hurt you like that.—The silence was eternal, at least for him, there were no words said from either side and he wasn’t paying attention to anything else that wasn’t the transmmision, all he cared about was Keith’s reply, hering his voice, knowing whether he was going to accept him for the time being or if he was to be left there...—Can you wait for me...?—





	Shining Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> This is not beta'd, I live on the edge.
> 
> Enjoy the mess.

If someone had told him, that in first place, he was going to have another chance to see with his own eyes, to feel with his own skin or to even be able to think to himself without anyone else inside his mind, even stronger and with more control than him, he would have laughed before asking what was the price to pay for it. So far it didn’t seem like he had to give anything in exchange but his situation didn’t look good at all or that anything will happen, he had been at least there for thirty doboshes, sitting in the middle of the clone factory, a factory from where he had been born and one where he remembered fighting the person he loved the most.

Though there weren’t any signs of destruction anywhere and even if the factory was working he couldn’t see a thousand or more of himself around, the pods were empty, there was only him in the middle of nowhere. The whole base was working perfectly, he could see the purple lights all around him and while that would cause him panic attacks, anxiousness, desire to run away back in older times, right now he felt at ease, with an inner peace he couldn’t understand. Since the beginning he _hadn’t_ been Shiro, his name was _not_ Takashi Shirogane, that man as far as he could remember had been rescued and brough back to life, even if sometimes his mind would play tricks on him making he feel like he was the real one with nasty mental tricks, he understood his situation far better than what he expected.

Seeing as nothing happened he stood up, looking around and taking in his surroundings before thinking about the fact that he was indeed a clone, but he still needed to breathe, be feed and sleep, so he should secure those comodities as soon as possible just in case that nothing will indeed happen soon, leaving him to stay there without escape, then he looked at himself and could see he was dressed with a tight black suit covering him up to the neck, and it was indeed tight, almost as the under clothes he used to wear under Voltron’s armor, which made him smile, having something more to keep him rooted to life and not letting him go fall in desperation, along with the lightning around the place, his purple light that wasn’t a menace anymore, but those thoughts stayed behind as he went forward to search around a bit better.

As to expect from a former base there was some food stored for emergency, barracks to sleep in, and with little to almost no effort he was able to acces the command room faced with the fact that almost all the place was automated up to 80%, the things that required manual input were the in and out of messages, piloting the ships as well the access to the hangar which saddened him, that meant he couldn’t just go in there and get a ship to go out, that aside, he could live there perfectly and at peace while trying to contact with anything. As he was typing commands in panel, he finally realized his right arm was there while slowly remembering that Keith cut it when they were fighting inside that place.

Something seemed to told him that there were more than just small holes in his memory as to why he had been revived inside another body. His memories a living chaos and even so there were some facts that his mind was just taking as something normal because of the time he was inside the real him, all the same he was going to have the time to think about it while searching for a signal to connect to or someone to communicate with.

After, somehow, managing to leave a code message inside the console and wishing for Pidge to be there to help him understand better and more of the Galra system while explaining why he was able to understand it pretty well almost like a second languange, he turned around to go search for food, he found something liquid that looked a just a bit better than whatever Coran could ever want to feed them in the Castle of Lions.

He sighed.

It was hard to just accept that all of that wasn’t his, that these memories were of another person while the part that indeed was his memory had something as horrible as guiding Keith to that place to kill him, to get rid of him and Voltron under the command of a witch, all of that was more than enough to stop him from eating anything ever again, but he refused to let himself down by his own mind, he wasn’t Shiro and until he could grasp any form of anything as to who he was, he wasn’t going to just be like him in place of anything better, he could find and he had better ways to deal with the whole mess, it was just a matter of waiting until someone could tell him what was the actual state of the universe and then he would decide which way to take, what to do and how to meet with Keith, then he would wait until he was able to reply to him and get an answer, just then he would be able to think about who he was and whatever else he had to.

_Keith_.

He stopped eating resting his back in a more comfortable position against the cargo boxes he had found around and had moved to improvise a table and a chair, then he started to think about him, the way he was looking at him while muttering such words, “ _I love you_ ”, it didn’t mattered what he had said before of after, as soon as those words reached him everything came back to him, even if he didn’t have any means to really come back and Haggar’s control was beyond what he could handle, but he remembers, those eyes, the way he was looking at him as if waiting a reply, having hope even after all the things he said trying to hurt him, to destroy him from the very core of his soul and even so Keith stay there, held him even more when they were falling. The last thing he had been able to see with his own eyes was Keith taking the decision to fall with him.

Of course, he didn’t knew that he wasn’t really him, **right**? It was confusing and he couldn't understand in reality, he grew afraid when thinking about that chance, the fact that Keith had fell so much for him thinking it was for Shiro, the man he loved, Shiro, the man that deserved such words.

He looked at his hands after leaving his plate to the side, seeing as one of his hands was still the Galra arm he had been using since been mutilated in this very same base, the other one looked normal, it was a human arm made of fless and bones or so one would think, he didn’t knew how long after but his very way to look at it had changed, thinking about taking a knife or anything that could slice open his arm, look inside of himself and see what was him, what was he made of, feeling such hatred for himself in such a moment that seemed to last an eternity, but, at any moment he really was about to do anything, Keith’s voice came from inside his mind and to his ears, asking him to think how he would feel if he saw that, and asking why he should feel the need to harm himself?

Returning to his food, he could think of an answer to that question of Keith’s illusion inside his mind:

“ _Because I hurt you_ ”.

* * *

Within Klii Nyn system the new base of the Blade of Marmora had no more need to remain hiden under secret codes and spacial machinery to keep themselves away from being found, now they could show their emblem proud and big, as a signal of help and peace for everyone that could ever need them, and while he was watching such a thing, then turning around to see the amount of people arriving at the Blade with renewed hope and faith in finding in this place a new beginning, Keith couldn’t stop smiling, moving his braid over his shoulder.

He was just arriving from a rescue mission in a planet where a rebel group attempted against the galactic peace and so, obviously, the efforts that they, the Voltron Paladins, the Alteans and the humans in the earth had given to regain such a state in the universe. He couldn’t say that they were a kind of Space Patrol like Lance sometimes would call them, but they indeed took care of at least helping with small things that the coallition didn’t needed to get involved with if he could do it sooner. Leaving his thoughts behind he walked through the entrance, greeting everyone who would give him a welcome in a respectful manner, new and veteran alike, always feeling a bit overwhelming about it, he didn’t feel like he was doing something that deserved such praise, it was just the right thing to do and what he wanted to do, also what made him happy, filling him with something he was unable to put into words.

Maybe it was because he used to think that helping others while putting them over their own lives was heroic but kinda stupid if you let everything behind, now that he had helped the whole universe in something he never ever imagined he could understand that sometimes helping someone else was more than enough to give yourself a place where to belong.

And even so, he couldn't help but sometimes stop and turn around, paying attention to any rumours or small talk around him. —He looks even _more_ lonely than what I had been told...—

—Shut your mouth! If they somehow get to hear us, we are so out of here, do you even know who is vice-commander on here?—

—His mother?—

—Think about that for a moment, then, you idiot, we can't go around saying that her son looks sad and lonely even though it's been who knows how much since the last time he saw that Atlas’ Captain, it's just a taboo!—

—You said all of that yourself, I just said that he looked sad and lonely, did he really had anything with that Captain? I mean, being the Black Paladin I don’t doubt he needed a lot more of excuses but...—

—Shut your _quiznak_ mouth!—

Keith sighed, it wasn't the first time he seemed to catch that sort of conversation, with time he became less sensible to such comments, to his memories or at least that was what he keep telling to himself, in reality he just keep accepting the pain in his chest and how it was never going anywhere, like a knife in the middle of his heart that only Shiro could take out and heal with his own hands. He recalled that at first, when he took the decision that he wanted for the Blade to become an organization of relief, it took him blood and tears at the mere thought of leaving Shiro in earth, accepting he wasn't needed anymore and his place was besides his mother, far away in the space, in Daibazaal with the other Galra.

His mother had never been angrier than the day she found him crying over Shiro's wedding invitation, even though she understood the fact that she couldn't just go there and yell at him, demanding for him to take responsibility for everything he had done because he had never been at fault for Keith misunderstanding everything to the point where he thought he was loved back the way he loved him. Inside his mind there was, carved with fire, the memory of Shiro thanking him for going to the celebration just before he went away to the arms of someone he didn't even knew, forever, and if he knew him, he just pretended to forget in hopes to deny his reality.

That day he discovered that Galra could hold up alcohol way too good for his liking, and getting drunk became impossible with only human beverages, so as soon as he arrived back at Daibaazal he went to buy all kinds of strong alcohol or similar from stores, bars, restaurants and anything that could sell them. Again his mother hadn't been happy with it but she acted kind enough to let him suffer, cry his heart out and despair inside his room until he had the strength to stand up and ask her for help to get out of there and stop thinking about it.

With time it had become easy to not think, even if he had suffered more because of the yearly reunion they had for Allura, with Shiro he talked less and less until they reached a point where he couldn’t see in him the same man he had hugged before, begging him to come back and never leave him alone.

Shiro wouldn’t never do that and even if he didn't said that outloud because it was the only way he could stay sane and hold it together, there was no need for it, he didn't think that one day Shiro would just magically come back to him and happiness would be a reality. It was more of a mourning he had delayed long enough, Shiro had told him before even, he had died back then at the fight with Zarkon and what had he done searching for him was only to bring a clone that almost killed all of them, moreover he wasn’t even sure if the Shiro back in the earth wasn't that being he had saved in desperation of having something to cling to Shiro with his whole life.

—Keith, you came back earlier than expected. Did something happen?— His mother said and he just shaked his head while smiling softly to her in an attempt to give her some peace of mind.

—The evacuation ended sooner than expected, your reinforcements were a great help and we were able to suppress the rebel forces easily, once with the leader he gave up peacefully and then they were taken to the most near authority, or rather, the closest base of the alliance.— Said as he shruged as if saying he just left the heavy paperwork for the higher ups, even though his people fighted. —Everything else was easy enough, those who were taken into the rebel army by force are here for rehabilitation, those who lost their families are being organized within other small ones for the time being and the childs are being supervised by our best cadets.— And by that he was talking about the unit of Ezor and Zethrid who loved kids, totally, that was why he had put them there and they had a lot of cadets under them to take care of the small ones.

Krolia looked like she was having fun with the way he was telling everything, he had been learning what kind of stuff made her smile or raised her mood, small similarities he still had from his father made her remember the short instant they had lived together, the three of them, on earth while being happy, so he had to do his best to give her at least that in exchange of not being able to give anything else, he had felt as if her anger towards Shiro was because she wished for him to have a family of his own, but he needed not, he was fine with only her, he had his family with him and she was someone he had wished to meet so long ago and treasured her as such.

—Looks like you’re getting stronger everyday, I wonder if that’s something you got from me or from him, maybe both?— His mother learned to let her feels show slowly, becoming more affectionate even in such moments and letting he know and feel loved, —if the report is ready you can give it to me, Kolivan and me were checking the last few reports from other officials and then I will go with you, we can take a break for dinner.— He was nodding just when the door to the communications room opened and someone else was there by his side.

—Vice-commander Krolia-...oh, Keith, welcome back and great, I needed exactly the two of you right now.— The Slav looking alien seemed uneasy, but again, being from the same alien species as Slav kinda gave away that all of them were a nervous mess sometimes and probably the matter wasn’t as urgent as he made it sound. —We got a rather _peculiar_ signal right now.—

He didn't liked a bit the way that peculiar word sounded.

* * *

Going by the tracker on the command screen, he had been there at leas by seven phoebs and that made him get a bit amazed at how well he still remembered the time measurings Allura had taught them all, even if half of that hadn’t even been to him really. That day, in particular, he was thinking and recalling how he was about to run out of food and if no one came for him soon he, most likely, was going to die before having a chance to see Keith once again.

It was then, that in said screen, he could see something which gave him hope all over again, he had catched a frequency, a signal to connect to and now all he had to do was to wait until a reply. Without thinking about it a lot he had run towards the controls, praying, almost begging to anything in the Universe that could grant him a miracle, that someone could please answer him, he was just about to throw himself over the screen and yell when the connection had been established and accepted. Life came back to his eyes and his whole body felt filled with renewed energy and more than just the simple desire to survive for Keith, he felt like he could do anything now.

A voice could be heard at the other side of the connection, —who is there?— The question left him confused, babbling a bit without making any sense or knowing what to say, —a Galra?—

—No! I am-...no, I am lost, stranded, I am stranded on a Galra base, I need help, who is this?— He couldn’t help but be on the edge, acting a bit harsh and with his defenses up just as he replied, and then the silence came from the other side from a moment that felt too long, suddenly a voice he knew came out from the speaker, he hadn’t hear it beyond a few words before, once back what it felt like a lifetime.

—What are you doing in the middle of nowhere, inside a Galra base nonetheless, _Shirogane_?— Krolia sounded a bit changed, still he could recognize her voice, it was her.

—Is it you, Krolia? Is...is it really you? Is there...? Is Keith there?— Soon enough there was what sounded like a punch near the comm device, was she angry? And if she was, why? Somehow his mind seemed to understand and know but still denied him the information, keeping himself in the dark.

—Answer my question, Shirogane!—

—Mom...wait.— A quiet voice could be heard, it was Keith’s, distant and low, but it was his voice without a doubt and his heart skipped a beat once he heard him, feeling as if he wasn’t going to be able to even talk to him, to tell him what was happening, he thought about spilling everything he had been feeling up right now and there. —Shiro, it’s me, Keith. Why are you there? Did something happened? The, the signal is old and it seems...—

— _Keith_ ,— he let out, in a sigh that sounded way too desperate, while looking at the controls and wondered how he could get an image, how could he manage to see him. —I, I don’t...I don't really understand completely these controls, I don't know what to do, I, it took me forever to even send the distress signal but I am...I, I am at the factory, I am, where...where you saw me the last time, I...— was he even making sense? He didn’t knew, or if Keith was even connecting the dots about him and the signal, he just knew that he had to tell everything right now, to let out what he wanted to cry out, —...that mark on your cheek, I am where I hurt you like that.—

The silence was eternal, at least for him, there were no words said from either side and he wasn’t paying attention to anything else that wasn’t the transmmision, all he cared about was Keith’s reply, hering his voice, knowing whether he was going to accept him for the time being or if he was to be left there...

—Can you wait for me...?—

* * *

When that voice called for him there was nothing but a force within his body that told him he needed to go help him, to rescue him, his mother of course was against it since the very beginning and almost stopped him from getting near the comm to answer the call, after all, they couldn't know if it really was Shiro who was calling for help, sure he sounded like him, younger and more alive, but totally like him.

Once he heard how Shiro said some places, locations that seemed only the two of them could ever know, his heart sunk a bit and his head spiraled, he had been worried then anxious, frustrated and then happy, a whirlwind of emotions engulfed him in less than a few seconds to the point he wasn’t even able to control himself yet, he got out of the room as soon as Shiro, that Shiro, the clone had assured him that he would wait for him, and he stayed outside, back pressed against a wall with a hand covering his mouth, eyes fixed on the ceiling while everything he fought to shut inside of him, to close out and cover up in the most deeper part of his soul, was coming back so fast and so strongly he almost felt like drowning.

It couldn’t any other clone it had to be the same one, the others had been sleeping while the place was being destroyed and reduced to pieces and even so he could someohow make up some reason to have him back. But even if the explanation was tangible he couldn’t control his own heart that kept beating almost as if it wanted to run away to his side, neither his eyes that were starting to being overflown by tears that would make him cry again for the same man. Keith had been called with warm, with a need that he couldn't even remember if Shiro had once with him, and yet he knew it had been like that long ago, it had been normal and so common everyone thought they were together, that they were dating.

In the end he wasn’t unable to go alone, his mother didn't let him but he still had asked that she stayed back and let him go alone into the facility, he wanted to face whatever that was there alone, face to face with whoever or whatever that could be there, ignoring his mind going so fast as to imagining Shiro, **that** Shiro, waiting for him, waiting for him, wishing to see him, just everything for him for the first time in forever, wanting _him_ and Keith just felt as he needed to accept, he had to get in there by himself and throw his self to whatever was there without even thinking, but there were things that indeed changed in this time, even if he was desperate, wanting it or not.

As he was guiding the ship and looking into the distance to the base, he thought, it had been a pain to get the coordinates for the place because not even Shiro could remember them exactly, and he didn't had Black anymore to take him all the way there, he just piloted following the indications and a bit of, maybe a connection with Shiro or some trust in his own memory that he would remember as he went along into a place in space that he could remember.

—If what you’re saying it’s true you know he is not exactly Shirogane, and the last time I left you alone with one of them you were hurt.— Keith didn't knew if his mother talked about the mark at his cheek, his broken heart or somehow about both at the same time knowing he would understand, —I understand that you want to go alone and face it alone, but you’re not alone this time, I am here this time, I will be here this time.— She pressed on those words, making him turn back to see her, his eyes filled with hope and hurt, sadness but longing, everything was at his limit and just barely stopping in his throat and maybe that was why his mother wanted to shield him, to protect him, because he looked so much like that time they had meet for the first time back then, in that base. —Do you understand?—

He nodded, —I do, and you can trust me, I am not a kid anymore, I know you have some good amount of years on you, more than me, and I grew up, I know what I am doing.— Maybe, not entirely but he wasn’t going to get in there and then sprint to the arms of whatever that was inside, at least he told himself that much, and in a way his body was just about to burst open due to the amount of adrenaline he had inside and the emotions he kept shut even now. When he landed the ship and they both got out, he just went to her and hugged her, for the first time he noticed he was just a bit taller than Krolia, almost laughing for not noticing it before. Slowly getting away, he smiled at her again and suddenly got an unexpected compliment.

—This part of you, right now, is just like your father, you look like him, more than ever. Partially, I'm grateful for how Kolivan took care of you as you're strong, very strong but, yet, you never lost what made me grateful of you being a human.— Keith was at a loss for words after that, he looked at himself and though that yeah, he was using an uniform that was almost the same as Kolivan before but he didn't knew what prompted such a thing, maybe it was his expression, his way of talking or just the determination in his face, in any case something was giving him the same air as his father and for that his mother was proud albeit sad as well, maybe she just understood his mind better than him? —There was a time when I saw those eyes on your father, when he was determined to give up his life for mine, for ideals I had brought with me and had nothing to do with him, it was when I finally noticed just how much I loved him and was loved back just the same. I know that person has hurt you, since we travelled for two years alone and together, I knew there was no one more important to you, more special, more than anything in the universe to you but Shirogane. I want to protect you. And I see I can do nothing to stop you from going to a place where you still look like my small Keith, so brave and filled with love to give only to him.—

—I...I will come back, mom. You don't have to worry about anything, I may not know what is waiting for me inside but I do know that whatever it is I'll be needing you once I come back.— He smiled, a bit weak, and let go of her before getting away, breathing deeply and then walking forward and always ready for anything towards the entrance, looking around the place as we walked through it, reliving memories, good and bad, memories of a place and a moment when he thought everything would be different. As soon as he placed a hand against a wall in the coold corridor there was a soft purple light guiding him towards a specific door, which he found familiar.

As soon as the door opened reality and memories were no longer apart, he could see Shiro standing there, so different but yet the same and with decision in his face, determination to destroy him and receiving him with thousands of himself within the pods, but his vision slowly cleared and he saw just one man, fully clothed in black, sitting near a few cargo boxes and the pods around were empty, there were no more clones, as if those had never been used for anything before. His eyes narrowing as he felt something getting caught inside his throat, something that had bloomed from his chest and was making it hard for him to breathe, his vision blurring as he took a step back, not wanting to show how weak he actually was under Shiro's presence, because he didn't knew if that was friend or foe.

—...Keith— A voice, a soft whisper in the air could be heard, filled with longing covered with tiredness and anyway sounding terribly happy, having to fully open his eyes to notice the gray vision looking at him, giving him such a warm look that he hadn't felt in forever, a warm look he missed so much. —I, I am so sorry, I...I am terribly sorry, I hurt you, I hurt you so badly and even so you're, even so, after all of that, you came here, you came here for me.—

The desire to run away stopped as he looked at the man in front of him, letting a smile appear on his face, finally letting his sadness, all the contained emotions, flow along with the tears falling down his face, —I, I think I remember saying something along the lines of as many times as it takes, right?— He started to move forward, moving faster at the thought of being able to hug him in that moment, thinking about holding each other in their arms but...

He ended up running towards Shiro as soon as he saw a smile forming in his face, looking at ease and then letting himself fall forwards, Keith had catched him at the last moment, holding him tight and calling his name, almost yelling it before noticing the traces of exahustion, he was just tired and Keith could imagine why, from the transmission before it seemed like he had been there for months, all alone and without any contact with anyone.

Even so, as soon as Shiro saw him he seemed so happy and relaxed, so much as to let himself fall into his arms. Keith looked at him carefully, noticing the long hair and his face covered with facial hair, it was so obvious it was that clone, his hair had only one white spot and the rest was pure black, his body was complete and the Galra arm was still there, totally different from the one the Atlas’ Captain used, and so he lowered his face, resting his forehead against Shiro’s, smiling behind the new flow of tears, —welcome back, and thank you for coming back...I'll never let you fall again. I’ll never let you suffer again. **Never**...— he said, caressing his cheek, kissing his forehead, smiling that was only broken by low sobs, it didn't matter if he was loved back as much as he loved, it didn't matter if that sentiment wasn't even real anymore, his heart felt at peace and he finally thought that everything was going to be alright, since this very moment.

* * *

He slowly opened his eyes, feeling a more vibrant light in his face, blinking for a bit before he could even look around the place and notice that he was at one of the Blade's rooms, he could feel the soft matress under him while starting to get up to sit on the edge, slowly, moving his human hand to his face and soon taking away the strands of hair, moving them away, sighing and trying to recall what had happened before, but when he tried to move better on the bed to maybe get up he noticed **something** missing, his metal arm, his right arm was gone, his heart pounding against his chest resonated within his head, his world twisting around, everything was small and getting even smaller by the second, he didn’t even had room to breathe, it was too small to even be there, it was just too small, and then the door opened causing him to almost jump to attack whoever that was coming to him and he only stopped because he could see those purple eyes looking at him, with worry.

He relaxed, Keith being there meant that nothing bad happened, he was in good hands, he was where he was meant to be and he could trust him completely, right? —I'm sorry, I tried to tell them it was a very bad idea to take your arm away while you were sleeping, of course, they didn't want to risk anything but...I’m, just, I'm terribly sorry,— he could see Keith getting closer and then taking a seat at his side before raising his hand and trying to touch the place where his arm was missing, but there was doubt all over his face. He could understand, he wasn't Shiro, he wasn't the person they could just trust and he had revealed that he was the clone that supposedly died a long time back, yeah, it wasn't really good news, at the same time that was probably why Keith doubted about touching him, that place, where he had already cut off his arm once, but he didn't blame him.

—You can touch...I’d prefer if you did, actually, — he voiced his wishes, breathing deeply, still keeping that after a while because even now he could feel the panic attack come at him sometimes because he didn't had his arm with him, but Keith's fingers came soon and he could feel how he was caressing his shoulder and apologizing, assuring him that everything was going to be fine, it relaxed him, to the point he could lean back and press his back on the wall, —you've grown quite a bit, and your hair, it looks like Kolivan’s, was it Kolivan? I think it was.— He sounded exhausted, he had just woke up and it had already been so tiresome to deal with everything so suddenly, but as he was admiring how beautiful Keith was now that he was older, and how even more beautiful he looked with his hair braided like that, getting lost in his eyes that were as pretty as ever, he remembered, remembered the reason behind wanting to see him first out of anyone else, wanting to run to him before anything else.

A hand was soon touching his cheek, then moved away to play with his hair, —you look just like the first time I found you, — somehow tha made him smile, —should we do the same? I remember back then, you were too anxious to cut your own hair and, well, I brought scissors with me.— He wasn't prepared for that, he had figured Keith would want answers way more than just settle into searching for normality within their encounter, and his mind didn't helped being a mess between feeling so defenseless without an arm and the fac that he should probably beg for forgiveness for more things than what he could remember rather than reply to Keith if he wanted or not a haircut, so he closed his eyes and pressed his head against Keith's hand.

—You sure? You know what I am, I just can't...—

—Honerva, ...rather, Haggar is no more, Shiro, I don't think you'll suddenly change again, and you can't hurt me, I have proved that to you. In the event something happened, I'd go across the Universe for you.— Something within him kept telling him that those words were way more desperate than anything, and even more deeper within him he wondered if the real Shiro had died to make Keith felt that it was enough to have him.

But he didn't dare to question.

—A haircut would be good.— He let out a murmur, seeing Keith's eyes light up immediatly but these didn’t lost the deep sadness within them that worried him, it worried him if he would be able to support Keith only with his love to give, with his love as a replacement, with him being what was left. It wasn't as if the idea bothered him as long as Keith accepted him, but, being called Shiro just on and on hurt him, somehow, it was making him feel something confusing inside of his soul, a feeling into which he didn't wanted to dive, as if there were a giant wall keeping him away from the deeps of his mind, stopping him from reaching something way more dangerous than the drug called love that was keeping him alive even now.

Carefully he was helped towards a chair and closed his eyes, letting Keith touch and fix his hair in any way he wanted, feeling those hands playing with the long strands of hair and slowly checking the ideal length for his hair, —I am going to start, Shiro,— a mere whisper before hearing the snap of the scissors cutting his hair, letting his eyes open a bit to see his hair fall around him.

—Back then, when you said that, I really didn't thought that even in the almost impossible chance that I could come back, you would truly go ahead and rescue me not minding the place where I could be, or how long had it been.—

—I did promise it to you, didn't I? And I said it again, that I would go with you and to you as many times as it takes to wherever you may be, Shiro,— a soft laugh came out of Keith's mouth, a sigh then, something that felt almost as if he was resigned.

—I do understand that now, but...Keith,— he raised a hand slowly, searching for one of Keith's, taking it and pulling a bit so he could hold it properly, taking it to his mouth to kiss his fingers, tracing them with his lips while breathing deeply and thinking a moment about what he was about to say, it was maybe the words that could broke the magic of the moment, —don't call me **that** , I don't deserve it, least from you neither I deserve you or anything of this, Keith.—

—...How should I call you, then?— He hand't even thought about that, maybe he could be called something close to Takashi but as a matter of fact, he wasn't human, he was a clone, there was no reason to cling to that name, or to that life.

—I was called Kuron,— said in a whisper, —how does Kuro sound?—

—Kuro fits you.— He heard, raising his face and opening his eyes, facing the pretty purple eyes of Keith looking right into him, firmly, slowly getting closer. —Why where you searching for me? How did you came back? Why did you came back? All of those things are questions I want to ask, I want to understand, but as soon as you called for me on the comm something just told me that you really needed me, that I had to run to you, that you were someone who truly was there because you wanted to see me, because, because you just wanted...to see me, at least once.— His voice was weak, he noticed how he was letting down all the defenses he had build to not touch something painful, —I can't lie saying I didn't hoped you were really Shiro, that you were the person who...in that very moment...— he stayed in silence.

—I don't know Keith.— He replied, —when I woke up all I could think about was how I hurt you, how much I tried to tear you apart, how much pain I caused you and even when I was able to recover some of my concience at the end all I could do was see you suffer, see you not knowing what to do and then falling with me, when I wasn't even the man you loved,— he pressed more his hand against Keith’s before standing up and softly pushing him a bit away so he could hold him by his shoulder, searching inside his confusing eyes for something to ease his own dizzyness, —me too, Keith. What I really wished to say in that moment, what I kept yelling inside my head with everything I had, all I ever wanted to tell you...all this time I just wanted for you to hear this, me too, Keith.— He could understand, hell, he was more than aware that the reason of Keith’s confusion could be because he didn't knew how to explain himself or maybe Keith didn't even remember, maybe he already had a good long happy run with Shiro and he was just opening old wounds.

What kind of idiot won’t notice that they were made for each other? Keith had given his life, willingly and happily, for the man he loved and he was more than ready to save Shiro even from death itself at any moment, even if it meant to put him inside the body of a clone. And he could remember that, the discussion around him in a moment where he just decided to just not wake up anymore even if he could, then he remembered standing face to face with the real one, he had screamed over Shiro's doubts about getting back, or if it was even worth being alive.

He was able to see even when he was inside his mind, letting him take control and knowing he was recovering the control slowly, every day being him less and less, and suddenly there had been a cry, a prayer from Keith about not leaving him alone.

How much he wished to wake up and get up, to embrace him and reassure him that he was going to be there even if Shiro gave up, against his desires he had gone over to Shiro’s concience and yelled at him, about how much Keith had already suffered and how much he needed him, how much he was loved and how much he was needed alive, he couldn't just throw away Keith's love when that was one of the few things he had since the beginning, and gave it all to him.

After that, everything went dark.

He could feel or at least know about Shiro's life because he had been there, he was like a second voice inside of him, a second opinion sometimes but even so, the pain of seeing Keith and not being able to be by his side, to not be himself who was there, just made his head spin, he didn't had a say in whether he could see or not, even Shiro sometimes would, without noticing, let him feel the same things as him, and there was something...odd, something that made absolute no sense as if there suddenly was a giant rift between them, memories he could no longer access, and Kuro knew that was because something dire had happened, suddenly, which made the basis of all his fears about hurting Keith all over again and even so he wanted to tell him everything, to look at his eyes, to face his confusion and the gigantic amount of feelings trapped inside of his chest that had neither a beginning nor an end, he just had to let it all out, directly from his soul.

—I do know, I know, I was not to me, you didn't say you love me, you...you were fighting to save me, but not me, it was to save Shiro, you had no idea about anything and you just let out your feelings, it was not meant for me, and yet I have been holding it within me all this time, I cling to it, and I...yeah, I do too, I love you too, Keith.— Kuro almost didn't breathe while saying all he wanted, always looking to Keith’s eyes, rasing his only hand to caress Keith's cheek, every moment filled with love, undying pure love and devotion to him, sincerity, desire to let him know that he was never again going to lie to him, not now, not ever. Maybe it was because of laying his heart so open for Keith that his silence hurt so much, at the same time he started to accept, to resign himself to the fact that he only came back to open old wounds that Keith had left behind so long ago even if it was just a facade.

And then Keith was throwing himself over him, hugging him tight, leaving him totally confused as he did not expect this but soon the words started to dawn in him almost as fast as they flew from Keith's mouth, punching him in the chest one after another while falling to the ground, with the scissors laying far away from them and right now being forgotten, only to be remembered in a glint out of Kuro’s eyes, if he could just touch them, if he could take them and then return back to Shiro’s mind, if he could just take anything and go back to that place and get rid of him, or maybe make him suffer at least a fraction of what Keith was letting out right now, he would do it, there was no doubt about it. He never hated Shiro so much as he did right now, he never hated anyone as he did right now, he never hated himself for being a clone of that person until now, it made him sick, it made him rage. Everything he could do was stay there while the man he loved the most was crying out loud, happy because at least a small part of Shiro loved him even when Shiro had left him behind and went to marry someone else, and he understood why there was a rift between his memories and the last times he had been awake inside of Shiro's mind, but as now, he answered the hug, taking Keith’s body against his, pressing his nose between his neck and the shoulder, then moving to press against his hair, containing his desire to get out of there to _kill Shiro_.

—I would never leave you alone.—

—I, I want, I believe you, I want to.— Keith sobbed, letting out a soft whisper while pressing his face even harder against his chest, he could felt his clothes getting wet by the tears the more they stayed together, —...I want to love you just all the same, but because who you are, not for who you were or who you were intended to be,— he understood, Keith didn't wanted to give him Shiro’s share of love, love that had been rejected, but they could try, they could start all over again or from whatever point they needed to, it didn't matter, hell, it didn’t fucking matter even if he had to wait a whole lifetime to get at least half the love he desired.

He agreed to that, he promised he was going to be the best person for him, he will try to be the best for him.

* * *

Another year went by, another year that arrived at the day where all of them would band together, all of the Voltron Paladins will be there under the statue of Princess Allura to remember her, to have some time for themselves and talk about their years, their lives. Coran was there, waiting for every one of them, he had welcome Pidge with a hug and congratulated her for getting taller once again and then for the uniform of Technology Lietenuant, for what he heard, her father would soon retire from the Atlas and leave the post to her, which was perfect as there was no one better suited for the job of handling such powerful weapon as her.

Hunk arrived with Shiro, but the latter still had some things to take care of inside the ship, probably calls with his husband, so a few steps away there could be seen two men talking about cooking recipes, every now and then the Altean man asking about Shay and how was that relationship going, Hunk skillfuly evading all the questions with a big laughter that eventually caught Pidge’s attention, who came to tease her old friend delivering the news about how Shay may soon become Miss Hunk, at least in Coran’s words, all they could think was how Lance will never stop teasing about that.

Said man arrived around the castle a tad later, with a basket of flowers and some presents for his friends, his blue altean marks shining slighty as ever and tired eyes given the welcome to everyone, just as thought, once he knew about Hunk and Shay he asked about the dat of the wedding and whether he should be ready to stop a certain rock brother from protesting in the middle of the vows, they were all laughing while the mood around started to settle to something natural, usual, when a ship from the Blade’s arrived.

Pidge was the first to sprint in hopes to welcome their friend and also who halted to a stop suddenly, confused and surprised without understanding what was happening when a younger version of Shiro, with black hair and a face that seemed more filled with life than the other one, stepped down from the ship, he was wearing an uniform from the Blade and for the style, it seemed he had escalated quite the ranks already. She saw him offer his hand to the interior of the ship and then Keith’s figure came to view, using said hand to support himself while getting out of the ship, smiling softly and warm, then he turned to see Pidge, —I guess your curiosity is bigger than your surprise, I can see it in your eyes.—

—I don’t think I would want to qualify myself as curious right now, is...is him a...?— She left the question open, not knowing if it was one of the multiple clones of their old leader that Keith had seen when they fought, or if that was something even darker and that required for them to take Keith to seek medical help.

—I can understand your worries about me, hopefully it won’t be needed soon. My name is Kuro, I am the right hand man of Commander Keith of the Blade of Marmora.— Said person gave a polite introduction, soon there was everyone looking at him, Lance especially looking taken aback by the current flow of events and yet he was the first to take a step forward towards them, extending his hand to greet him.

—If I recall correctly, I could never said sorry, for not noticing anything sooner or helping you better.— The clone, now named Kuro, let out a soft laugh but Keith couldn't help but almost hiss towards Lance like a possesive cat, getting closer and asking about what the quiznak they were talking about, which in turn relaxed the mood in a tick, even if they would keep seeing the new member of their circle with some doubts, not knowing what to do with him right now but they could imagine why he was with Keith and as soon they started to move while talking, they could see the pair of hands never letting go of each other, so everyone accepted in silence that if he was making Keith happy they won’t get in the way, after all, if Kuro was there he had probably passed whatever trial or nightmare Krolia had put him through, so if Krolia was fine with him, they were too.

Or so they thought when a deeper voice, tinted with anger and confusion, came through and caught their attention, —What is the meaning of this?—

—A pleasure to see you as well, Shiro.— That was the greeting the old Black Paladin gave, pressing Kuro’s hand with more strength within his before looking at him, —this is Kuro, at the Blade we have the theory that when Allura restored everything, parallel universes and that, she gave Kuro a second chance, letting him come back to another body that could be similar to his previous one, he was...trapped inside the factory for a few months, my mother had him hidden for a while until she was sure there was no danger.— Kuro couldn't help but look away, not wanting to explain that Krolia mostly kept questioning him and shutting him inside a room until she was almost sure he wasn't going to break Keith's heart, more. Getting her blessing had proven to be a even difficult task than making Keith fell in love with him.

—That is not answering my question, why is he here and since when do you know about him?— Slowly the other paladins tried to give them the space they needed, but Coran kept paying attention to everything and held out his arms so they couldn’t go anywhere, probably because he was wary of Shiro. —You should have informed me of this as soon as you found ot there was one of them out there.—

—He contacted the Blade, we are a relief organization, we help people throug rehabilitation, if we can’t deal with something we call you, Captain Shirogane.— He was cold and firm, ready to fight with words whatever argument he could throw at him, —and he is here because in the time he has been with us he has expressed his desire to come, to ask for forgiveness and to thank Allura for giving him another chance, as well as, you know, whether we like it or not, whether you like it or not, he was a Voltron Paladin, he helped to free entire planets, he fought for peace.— Shiro could see the grip of his old friend’s hand on the clone's getting stronger, something inside of him, then, filling up like he was about to explode, starting to take steps forward towards that thing but then Lance, of all of them, came to shield both Keith and the clone, from him. —What?—

—He...He has the right to be here, Allura would want to see him, and you know, there really is no other explanation for him to came back given that, you’re on his old body and that whole stuff, but, if Allura forgave him I already did too.—

It was rather hard to fight back against the words of the man who stood side by side with the princess in her very last moments, both in the physical and mental plane, Shiro had the tact to at least understand that if Lance said it was okay, in Altea, it was going to be okay and that was final, in Altea. He turned around and went away, calling Coran and asking him to talk about the crystal on the Atlas ship and other things he could think of.

—...Seems like I will cause trouble even when you guys are suppossed to relax, I’m sorry. I did ask keith if it was alright for me to come but, I can just go back...—

—Nah, Shiro is every day more of an asshole and insufferable, he doesn't even want to play Monsters and Mana with dad and Matt when we have the time, his life is basically just being a husband and a pain if the a-...— Hunk covered her mouth, even if his face gave the same words away, he seemed to have the same complains about his superior right now.

—I seem to remember that game, I don't have trouble playing a few times here and there, you know?— Kuro smiled, and then laughed before the faces of terror that the other three showed when they remembered the one time they played with him, —I promise I will not be a Paladin.—

—We do have some extra time for this reunion, I want Kuro to know New Altea the best he can, so I can ask later if Coran is up to give us a game, I would love to play it and check it, seems like it's the last good memory, or rather, enjoyable memory he has, so I kinda want to share that feel with him and give him more happy moments.—

—Okay that’s enough, no one wants to talk about the Weblum in the room but, like, Keith, are you two...? You know? Well...— Hunk made a movement with his hands as to point to them, then moved his eyes to check his hands...then pointed to the holding hands that never seemed to get away from each other, not even of suddenly Zarkon came back to life and started to attack.

Keith's ears felt hot and he didn't reply, Kuro was wearing a big smirk, playfully, he teased, —should I tell them, _Commander_?—

—Oh my god, shut up!— He finally let go of his hand, pushing him away, yelling something along the lines that he needed to check if his guest room was still there and if there was room for two people, walking away as Kuro started to laugh, holding his stomach and then noticing the looks of wariness the other had started to go away, his old friends, if they were, started to accept him back into the group, suddenly feeling Lance’s arm around his shoulders as he was asking about the latest gossip about their relationship, Pidge then came closer and asked if she could take a look at his new prosthetic arm, with a feeling that she would soon connect him to a computer.

It was good to be back.

All of that was happening and he had to look around, to where the Princess statue standed, tall and proud, he couldn't help but think about how thankful he was to her for his second chance. There was still a long, difficult path to walk down, lots of friendships to build again, memories to create again but he was sincerely happy.

All the while from the Castle entrance Takashi Shirogane looked with an envious look, how someone that was not him was taking his place and everything he didn't had anymore, noticing now, too late, of what could have been.

_What will never be._

**Author's Note:**

> Okay I translated it and it kinda got bigger? Somehow? Anyway this was inspired by [zuspacey's tweet](https://twitter.com/zuspacey/status/1102217966668509184) and a great interchange of discussion with my bae about Kuron, Shiro, S8 stuff and basically almost three full months of absolute denial about what happened.
> 
> I have no idea what I'm doing or if I'm even going to continue this, I just suddenly felt like all the cool things I wanted to write about Sheith came back to me in one giant punch and I have been feeding on Sheith in twitter.
> 
> So if you like it or just want to scream about Sheith with me, you can find me at @zenzenxdameda in twitter, bc I don't exist anywhere else, beware of videogames in the middle and my spanish rants as english is not my first language. Thank you for reading, have a great day.


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